D.K. Duncan IT TOOK the entire first tier leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) more than five hours to understand what some of them think is a 'non-issue'. According to some nothing had changed since August of last year when Mr. Seaga announced the voluntary liquidation of his two companies. The deputy chairman of the JLP told reporters "that the meeting lasted more than five hours owing to the great hype" surrounding the issue. Dr. Broderick claimed that the "Standing Committee had interpreted reports about the concerns of JLP MPs over Seaga's continued leadership as "non-factual and disruptive".
The JLP leadership would have been better served had it publicly recognised that the resolution of the matter of the financial liabilities of the Opposition Leader's two companies is of continuing interest to and concern of the Jamaican public. As long as this matter is unresolved and he remains a public figure, no amount of media bashing or allegations of conspiracy is going to change this reality.
WHAT HAS CHANGED?
What is new was the formal documentation of the financial status of Town & Country Resorts Limited (TCRL) one of the two companies put into voluntary liquidation by the leader of the JLP. Presented by the liquidator to the Registrar of Companies, on Monday, January 6, 2004, it immediately becomes public property. It is available to the media and the general public for scrutiny and comment. Retreating into legalism is not an option open to the Opposition leader. He ought to be painfully aware of the public interest and at all times seek to sustain the utmost clarity during the course of the resolution of this issue.
It is not simply a question of public relations. It begins with a profound commitment to transparency and information sharing which is the bedrock of accountability. If it takes the leadership of the JLP over five hours to understand the recent developments on this issue, it should not be difficult for their spokespersons to appreciate the need for ongoing clarity in the public domain.
The same Standing Committee which met for over five hours on Friday had also met a few days before on Monday January 6, 2004. The document had been presented to the Registrar of Companies earlier that same day. The Standing Committee/MPs should have been updated then as a matter of course. To blame the media or anybody else for this matter being discussed in a one-sided way is simply an abdication of a public responsibility.
EXPECTATIONS
After the Privy Council ruled on the General Consumption Tax (GCT) liabilities of the first company TCRL the Opposition leader voluntarily offered his second company, Premium Investments Ltd. (Premium) to be placed into liquidation 'to protect the interest of the creditors'. He stated at the time that "its estimated surplus after payment of its debts in full is in excess of $200 million." He joined both companies in this 'comfort letter' to the Jamaican public and the leadership of his party.
For the majority of us who are not professional liquidators, it is not unreasonable to expect that a public disclosure of the assets and liabilities of Premium would have accompanied or follow very shortly that of TCRL. In its absence an appropriate public update might have been sufficient. To blame the media, sections of the party leadership or the public for speculating on how much cash will be available to pay off the liabilities of TCRL after Premium's assets are disposed of is to retreat into a state of denial.
OBJECTIVITY
Every sympathy goes out to Mr. Seaga for having to go through these difficulties. However sympathy is not a substitute for cold, hard-nosed objective analysis.
In recent times, there have been some unfortunate events all of which have political and electoral implications for him. He was not anxious for internal party elections. Faced with their inevitability his response brought his party into disrepute during and after the contests for the posts of deputy leaders. The return to the days of lack of leadership cohesiveness seems inevitable. The Harper libel case and the Kenneth Black apology were not feathers in his cap. The public sees all of this on one canvas. The leadership issue continues to be relevant. It will not go away.
'Every day carry bucket go a well one day the bucket bottom must drop out'. One love, One heart.
A dental surgeon, Dr. D.K. Duncan, is a former general-secretary and cabinet minister in the PNP administration of the 1970s.
